What's In A Name?
by bnpwrites
Summary: Edward's got a Caddy, a lame nickname, and a thing for Jake's girl. Life is funny sometimes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi folks! Welcome to my little fic. If you dig the beginning, there's a little more of explanation of the whats and whys in the second A/N at the bottom.

(1) May

"Fuck," she muttered dejectedly looking down at her phone. Her hair was curled and her makeup was big tip perfect. She had on her work shirt and her apron was lying in her lap. He was supposed to take her to work. Twenty minutes until shift change.

"Want me to take you?" I asked.

She tried to hide the excitement, distress, mixed up emotions but for me, those eyes were like an open book. She shrugged. She wanted her boyfriend to be there for her like she needed him to be. Like he never was. It'd be easier for her to avoid and ignore me if he was here.

"He's supposed to be here," she sighed.

I stretched a bit and ran my hands through my hair. The couch was a bitch but I'd been too lazy to walk back to my place the night before. I stood up and pulled my shoes on. I had to rifle around under the table for my shirt. I wasn't quite sure how it got under there. Fat blunts had a way of making the night before a little blurry. I didn't miss the way her eyes were on me when I pulled the shirt over my head. Stealing looks when she thought she could. I see you, babygirl.

"Come on, you'll be late," I said grabbing my keys off the table.

She nodded and followed me to the Caddy. When I started it up cool air conditioning pumped from the vents and the speakers bumped. She smirked. She was thinking about how I was just like the rest of the guys.

"This better, skatergirl?" I asked as I skipped tracks to some Sublime. I knew they were her favorite.

She beamed.

"You didn't have to change it. I listen to rap too," she said with a shrug.

She was _used to_ rap. Everybody listened to it. But I knew better. I knew Jake was always telling her to turn that shit off when she cranked up her tunes. Sublime and Zepplin and The Killers. She hummed along happily as I guided the Caddy through traffic. The sunshine through the window made the natural blonde in her hair shine.

"What time you get off?" I asked.

"I close. So probably not til late. Everybody is supposed to be at the house tonight though," she said. She made it sound like she was just letting me know. But really she was checking up on me. Wanting to know if I would be there without really asking. I nodded.

"Call me if you need a ride," I told her as I stopped in the restaurant parking lot and she climbed out.

She smiled again.

"Rose is closing too, she'll give me a ride," she said leaning in the rolled down window. "Thanks for the ride, Romeo, you're my hero."

She headed in, ponytail swinging, ass bouncing, hips swaying.

**A/NII**: Chapter Songs: Good Day – Ice Cube (DJ Screw mix)

Boss DJ – Sublime

This is going to be somewhat of a tribute to the ghetto fabulous, white trash, crazy folks I ran with back in the day. Some of the best times of my life happened when I was getting that first taste of freedom after high school. So prepare for smoking, drinking, carrying on with some ExB (eventually) sexy times. And it'll be EPOV (yes, that is E. The nickname will be explained/make sense/come into play as the story goes along) with maybe the occasional pipe in from B. I'm playing it by ear. As for length and updates, the chapters will be short and I plan to update once or twice a week.

As always, feel free to comment and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ** Wanna see the Caddy? www dot flickr dot com/photos/91174047 N03/8280685251/ Pimptastic, yeah?

(2) June

The girls had picked Ranch Valley apartment complex for the same reasons I had; cheap rent and the only pool in town. We'd been in Aro's office six times in the past month trying to get him to do the cleaning treatment so we could use the fucking thing. Finally Jasper, Jake, and I told him we'd even do the work if he'd just get the shit to get it done. I didn't mind the manual labor. I just wanted to see Bella in a bikini. I wasn't disappointed. It was black with hotpink stars. It matched her belly ring. I stole another glance and took a long gulp from my beer.

It was hard not to stare at all that skin browning in the hot sun but I knew I had to keep it in check. Jake tended to act a jealous ass. I figured that out the day I met him. I started as a cook at Larder's in January and Jake was my trainer. The first hour he went over all the shit we had to do. The rest of the morning shift he bragged about all the girls he'd nailed. Jess was the blonde with the huge tits. Vicky was the redhead with the big ass.

"What about her?" I asked. Bella was coming on for a swing shift, tying on her apron. She was smirking. She looked like she was up to no good. I wanted to get up to no good with her.

"Nah, that's Bella. That's my girl," he said. No bragging, no playfulness. He was marking his territory.

"Your girl?" I was amazed that he was really gonna follow all that bullshit with real shit.

"Yeah. These other bitches are whatever, but that's my real girl," he explained. "She's off limits, Romeo."

I was intrigued but I buried it down. I chuckled. I had no idea why he decided to call me that. I still had no idea how it stuck.

"Hey, Romeo, come play!" yelled Allie. While I'd been daydreaming the girls had climbed off their loungers and into the water with Jasper. Alice was climbing on Jasper's shoulders. "Come get your ass kicked at chicken!"

I glanced at Jake.

"I said fuck that shit," he said. He was busy rolling up a blunt. "Y'all have fun."

Permission granted. To be close to her. To touch skin I was dying to touch. I dropped my shades in the seat and connonballed into the deep end.

"Come on, skatergirl, let's fuck 'em up," I said as I swam up to join the three of them.

She grinned at me.

"I don't even skate," she said laughing as I hoisted her up on my shoulders.

"Punkgirl, then?" I replied. She was giggly buzzed. She and Alice had been downing Margarita from a fat red cooler.

"More like punkass," Alice taunted.

"You little pixie bitch!" Giggly punkgirl yelled. I gripped her thighs, loving the feeling and lurched forward.

We won round after round. I held her too tight, loving her thighs on my shoulder and her hands twisting in my hair. She yelped and yelled and pulled and tugged and I loved every second of it. The liquor had her relaxed and handsy. I had to concentrate on playing, on the water, on anything else to keep my dick from getting harder than half mast.

"Y'all gonna come smoke any of this?" Jake yelled blowing out smoke rings.

Jasper and Alice clamored out of the water.

"You gonna let me go, Romeo?" even the sound of the stupid nickname on her lips sounded good to me. I headed to the steps to let her down easy even though I didn't want to. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze "Thanks."

**A/NII**: Chapter Songs: I Get High – Mike Jones

Summertime – Fresh Price and DJ Jazzy Jeff

Little more about our boy and his girl. Just a little at a time. Also if you wanna look here's pics of B's swimsuit and belly ring.

Swimsuit: www dot flickr dot com/photos/91174047 N03/8281743636/

Bellyring: www dot flickr dot com/photos/91174047 N03/8281743608/


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ** Thanks to everyone who's given this fic a look. You guys are great. Just so the time line doesn't get too screwy for anybody, this one is a bit of a flashback.

(3) January

I'd been at Larder's for three days when Jake asked me if I smoked.

"My girl's got an apartment and we all chill over there," he said. It was a crazy stroke of coincidence that we were in the same complex, just on opposite sides. I was surprised I hadn't bumped into them already.

They were a close knit group, each one of them having their own little knack. Rose was the beautiful one, Jasper the dealer, Jake the life of the part, Alice the big mouth, and Bella the smart one. Bella, Jake and Jasper had gone to high school together. Rose was Bella's cousin. Allie was Jasper's girl. I didn't know what my place was but they accepted me into their fold without hesitation.

When I walked in that first night the usual group was there with a handful of random others from the restaurant. Jake introduced me to everyone I hadn't already met. He introduced me as Romeo. The shit was lame but some of the chicks looked me over and smiled so I figured I'd let it ride. I passed out on one of the couches after more smoking and drinking than I'd done in long damn time. The next morning I woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon coming from the kitchen.

"Food's on the stove," Alice told me. She and Bella were at the table.

They talked about how fucked up everyone was the night before and ate. They talked about going to the bar the next weekend.

"Have you been yet?" Alice asked me in between bites.

I shook my head.

"Oh my God, it's the shit, you'll love it," she squeaked.

I noticed she didn't ask if I _wanted_ to go. She just expected me to.

So I went to the bar. And the thing, the draw I felt toward Bella became a force to be reckoned with. She was breathing sex on the dance floor. Curvy hips in skinny jeans. Defined collar bones and tiny waist in a plaid halter top. Pouty lips glossed, hair tossing around wild. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Until Jake slid up behind her and wrapped his arm around her tiny waist. He'd just been sitting at the table next to me spitting game at some skanky waitress.

"Green eyed monster?" asked a voice in my ear.

She was blonde. Name plate necklace and fake nails. The same kind of girl I'd been after since I was old enough to get my dick wet. The opposite of the girl I had my eyes all over. I gave her a smirk.

"Never," I said. "Your boyfriend don't mind you talking to strange men?"

"Don't have one," she said smirking back. She perched on my lap. "I'm Jane."

"I'm Ed – they call me Romeo," I said with a chuckle. If I was stuck with the stupid name, I might as well own it.

I knocked it down. The phrase dirty freak was played out but in Jane's case it was on point. It was the first time I'd ever had a girl begging for anal the minute I dropped trou. The next morning she told me she had a great time but she was really talking to some dude she worked with. They weren't actually together but it was something. I told her I was cool with that.

"I thought the nickname was lame at fist," she told me as she pulled her stiletto boots on. "But it fits you."

"Have a good night last night?" Bella asked that night as she grabbed a dish from the pickup window.

Jake snorted next to me.

"Shit, you knew my boy was gonna knock something down," he said pounding my back.

Bella rolled her eyes. She gave me a smile that said boys will be boys.

"Make sure you wrap it up, Romeo," she told me with a laugh and headed out.

I wondered what it would be like to have her under me, looking up with those big eyes.

**A/NII**: Chapter Songs: Hey Lover – LL Cool J

Italian Radio – Blue October

Bella's night out shirt: www dot flickr dot com/photos/91174047 N03/8287465715/


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's taken a look at this fic. You guys are awesome!

(4) June (2)

At first I was just into her look. That sweet little frame and that smile had plenty of dudes doing double takes. But she wasn't my usual type. I was accustomed to big asses and big mouths. Tight clothes, flashy jewelry. Black, White, Asian… didn't matter, but they all had that same kind of flavor.

Bella was that rocker chick. Jeans and band shirts. Chucks and ink on the inside of her wrist. She talked about movies I'd never seen, books I'd never even heard of. Instead of hearing the same old bullshit fall out of her pretty mouth it was like she was speaking a whole other language.

She was funny too. A real wiseass. But she was kind. Kind of a motherer. When we were drinking she made sure we didn't get loud enough to piss off the neighbors. She cooked and made sure everyone ate. She kept up with aprons and name tags. She set alarms. And she was with Jake. Who was fucking everyone else.

Despite him being a dog, she was loyal. She turned a blind eye to all the creeping and when she did have to recognize it she bitched him out but never cut him loose.

"Where's your suit punkgirl?" I asked walking in the back door. Jake and I'd worked day shift. He decided we needed to get a case and post up at the pool. I was surprised to see Bella sitting on the couch with her work gear on.

"Victoria asked me to work for her yesterday," she said looking pissy. "Didn't realize she did it so she could come here."

I sat down on the coffee table facing her. I was amazed by the scandalousness. Victoria and Jake had been slipping off a lot for smoke breaks at work lately. Long ass smoke breaks.

"Fuck 'em," I told her. "Call in. Come chill."

She shook her head and huffed out a sigh.

"Already tried. Marcus said they're short handed. Really need me… blah, blah, blah."

I could see tears glistening in her eyes.

"You put up with way too much bullshit, girl," I told her. I hated it. I hated seeing her sad. I hated knowing he was doing dirt but I couldn't really say shit. I hated knowing I could treat her better.

She shrugged.

"What else am I supposed to do?" she asked, harshly looking away to wipe tears.

I wanted to put my arms around her. I wanted to bring her to my place and watch her crazy ass movies and love her so fucking good she didn't think about her piece of shit boyfriend.

"Find someone –" I began. I stopped when she turned her eyes on me. Looking in those eyes made me bite my tongue. She wasn't ready yet. I could wait. "Find something better. There's other places."

She shrugged again and started to say something when someone blew their horn out front.

"That's Rose," she said. We both stood. She hesitated for just a moment then threw her arms around me. I was surprised for a second. Then I wrapped my arms around her, held her tight. I held on just a few seconds too long, hoping she'd get it. "Thank you." She said when she pulled away.

I nodded and watched her walk out. My head was all fucked up. I had half a mind to say fuck the pool. Just sit my house at my apartment. But instead I walked down there, grabbed a beer, and kicked back on a lounger. It was late afternoon and the sun was setting but it was still hot as shit. It was pretty crowded for a private pool. Mostly 'cause Jake had apparently invited every chick he knew. And Jasper.

"Allie don't trip about this shit?" I asked Jasper nodding toward all the half naked broads flaunting their shit.

Jasper shrugged.

"I'm not that dude," he said simply.

To me that said volumes about his character. What I didn't get was why he didn't say shit about Jake.

"But Jake is?" I asked watching him catch Victoria and tickle her until she squealed.

Jasper was silent. Finally I looked over at him. He was studying me. I shrugged.

"Bella's a good girl," I said.

He nodded.

"She is," he agreed taking a pull of his beer. Then he shrugged it off. "Not my business."

A/N 2: Chapter Songs: 99 Problems – Jay Z

If Your Girl Only Knew - Aaliyah

Bella's wrist ink: www dot flickr dot com/photos/91174047 N03/8287466393/


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Thank you thank you thank for the reviews. You guys are super extra awesome! I'm so glad you took a chance with this odd little fic and I hope you stick around.

(5) June (3)

The night wore on and shit just got crazier at the pool. Jake was talking shit to all the broads, getting them to take their tops off and whatnot. Usually I'd be into it. I'd be egging them on. I'd be going home with something. But instead I gave Jasper dap and nodded at Jake. Jasper gave me an oddly knowing look and Jake didn't pay me any mind. I fired up the Caddy and headed to work. Marcus glanced at his watch when I walked in the door.

"Kitchen is closing in 10, Romeo," he said looking tired. "Hope you're not here to eat."

I shook my head looking around.

"Nah. What section is Bella in tonight?" I asked.

He told me and I headed back, sitting down in a booth she'd notice right away. She only had one table left. Preppy mid thirty couple. They looked more interested in each other than the half finished plates in front of them. I looked around and saw Bella leaning in the walkway to the kitchen. Half watching them, half day dreaming. Probably humming. When she noticed me I nodded her over. She smiled but it was a tired smile.

"What's up?" she said sliding in the booth across from me. "Thought y'all were partying."

"Wasn't feeling it. You need a ride?" I asked.

"Rose is here. I was just gonna ride back with her," she said.

"Ride with me," I said. I'd had a few before I left the pool. Just enough to not give a fuck.

She looked at me curiously.

"You like them grape blunts," I said with a sly smirk. I wasn't above bribery. She laughed. "We need to take a ride and smoke."

"Yeah?" She asked. "Why am I the lucky winner?"

"I wanna hear some of that crazy ass shit you listen to," I told her. It made her smile just like I knew it would. "I need some musical diversity."

"You're gonna let me run the radio in the Caddy?" she asked. Her tone was both playfully mocking and disbelieving. She liked to give me shit about my baby.

"Consider yourself lucky, girl. Not many people get the honor," I told her grinning.

She mulled it over for a minute. I could almost see the struggle going on in her mind, go home to him and take a ride with me. Did she really want to go home to that foolishness? Was taking a ride crossing the line? Did she want to cross the line?

"There a lot of folks at the pool?" she asked. She looked a little sheepish.

I looked her dead on.

"There's a lotta hoes at the pool," I said. Then I waited. Make the right choice, girl.

Her eyes skated over to the couple. When I looked around they were nodding her over to get their ticket. She jumped up. She smiled decisively.

"If you help me clear it'll be a lot quicker," she said playfully batting her eyes.

I grinned.

**** WIAN ****

I drove and she gave directions. We ended up out by the airport. Not a real airport in a tiny ass town like that. Just for crop dusters and all. But the lights were cool to look at. We fired the blunt up and kicked back on the hood of the Caddy. The doors were open and she had her Ipod playing all kinds of stuff I'd never heard of. It was all mellow and soft.

"Hey, Romeo," she said suddenly. We'd been sitting quietly passing the smoke between us. "What's your name? Your real name?"

I smiled. She was the first person to ask.

"Edward," I told her.

She smiled.

"I like that. It's classic." She took a drag and held it for a moment. She exhaled and I watched the cloud drift away. "Why don't we call you that?"

I shrugged.

"Jake decided Romeo was better," I told her.

She sighed. Back to him. I fucked that all up.

"C'mere," I said motioning her closer. She looked at me curiously and I flipped the last bit of the smoke around so I could blow her a charge. She smiled again. Came at me with her eyes open. Kept her eyes on mine the whole time. I felt the faintest brush of her lips against mine. It was like electricity. And bad timing as her phone buzzed on the hood between us making us both jump out of our fucking skin.

She picked it up laughing. It was a text from Alice. Wondering where she was.

"We need to roll?" I asked. I knew the answer. But I wanted her to say no.

She hedged. She didn't want to go. It was like a little win for me. But in the end she caved.

"Yeah. Guess so," she said. She didn't want to go at all.

**A/NII**: Chapter Songs: Dilemma – Nelly ft Kelly Rowland

Wild Horses – The Sundays

Runaway – Yeah Yeah Yeahs


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: *happy dance* Best reviewers ever! You guys rock so hard. You make me love checking my email. Thanks a million billion times.

(6) August

It's funny how people don't notice the shit that's right in front of their faces. Like when a dude is so wrapped up in getting all the ass on the side he possibly can, he doesn't notice that there's someone creeping on his girl. Someone trying to pocket _his_ dime. And I didn't even feel bad.

I liked the way she looked in the Caddy. The way she always turned the vents to blow right on her face as soon as she climbed in. The way she shrugged out of her work shirt to the tank underneath the second we hit the street. The way she never slammed the door, only pushed it shut, taking it easy on my baby.

I liked the way she talked to me. I didn't usually spend time around intellectual types; never liked the way they just assumed they were better than me. But Bella had all those smarts without ever acting like she was too good. And she talked to me like I was smart too. Like she thought I was on her level. I let her do most of the talking. I did a lot of listening.

And I wanted to hit it in the worst way. Every time we hit the pool my mind was taking mental pictures for later that night when I'd take my shit in hand. Every time she'd run into the kitchen and prep a salad plate she'd slide that ass past me and I'd have to cover a groan with a cough. Every morning after a party she'd sit at the kitchen table in her beater and shorts and I'd think about putting my mouth all over those perky little tits. But I didn't make a move. I kept my touches G rated. Friendly hugs, ponytail pulls, and my arm around her shoulders. Grade school flirting shit.

As bad as I wanted her, I knew it couldn't be just once. I didn't just want to get it, I wanted to keep her. The problem, of course, remained Jake.

Jake didn't change. Victoria left at the end of July. Got knocked up and moved in with the baby's daddy. He'd sweated that one for a while. We partied like rock stars when she got the paternity test in and he was off the hook. I couldn't figure out how the fuck he kept Bella in the dark about that one. I thought maybe he'd learn his lesson and straighten the fuck up. But dudes like that don't change. He was taking smoke breaks with Lauren the next week.

That was cool with me though. Every time he stayed late to "help clean up" and told Bella to catch a ride home I was the first to offer. He'd grin at me like I was doing him a solid. Every time he sent her to my apartment to grab a game or a movie I'd hold her up for an hour or so. He was too damn dumb and blind to see I was taking her time for me, not him. While he was fucking a skank, I was learning how to make his lady smile. While he had his hands all over some dirty bitch, I had my arm around his princess. Just waiting for my moment.

**A/NII**: Chapter Song - Lil Wayne – I Can Take Your Girl


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Email full of reviews makes me so so so happy! You guys make me so so so happy! Thanks a million and two times for the reviews and favorites.

How about another chapter? Maybe a little back story on our boy?

(7) August 2

"What on earth possessed you to get this car?" she asked, nodding toward my baby with a smile. We were sitting on the sidewalk in front of my place.

It was two in the morning. The party was still going strong at her apartment. She gave me that look from across the room. That "get me out of here" look. So I said I'd go get the sixpacks I had in my fridge. Told her to take a walk with me. Obvious as fuck. Jake was playing quarters with his face all up in Lauren's Wonder bra. He barely even looked up.

"Pfftt bitch, please she's classic," I said with a smirk. Bella laughed. I loved that she could take a joke. I'd had too many broads flip on me for using the word bitch, even playing. "She was my dad's."

She looked curious.

"When I was born he decided he wanted something big and safe," I explained. I wasn't sure how far down this road I wanted to go.

"He gave it to you when you got old enough to drive?" she asked.

I sighed. It'd been a while since I talked about my dad.

"Nah, he passed on when I was a kid and my mom kept it for me," I told her. I looked at the Caddy and felt myself half smile. Lot of memories wrapped up in my baby. Good and fucked up.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry!" she gasped. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. It felt good. I missed it when she let go.

"I was thirteen. He was in the initial invasion of Afghanistan. He was a medic." I looked at my baby as I talked. It was kind of like poking a healing bruise. It still hurt but the pain wasn't as sharp as it used to be. When I looked back at Bella her eyes were already glistening with tears. "It was just me and my mom after that. We took care of each other. And I took care of my baby."

"I don't… I never thought….," she said. For once she was the one trying to find some words. I reached over and brushed the tears away as they fell.

I smiled slyly.

"What you thought I was just some hood fabulous white boy that'd never been through shit?" I asked with a laugh.

She huffed out a breath.

"No, I just never would have guessed that shit," she said.

"It was pretty rough. They didn't have a lot of shit in place to take care of families left behind at first. There was a lot of dicked up legal paperwork stuff that didn't work out for us. So we spent some time in some pretty shitty places." I shrugged. I remembered little ass state assisted apartments, sleeping on the couch. I remembered learning to fit in. "But then the Army got their heads out their asses and mom got some money. Things got better. She's got a fund set up for when I decide to go to school."

Bella was staring at me with a look I didn't recognize.

"What?" I asked feeling at little embarrassed. It was a little weird laying shit out there like that.

"You're amazing," she said. Her eyes were wide. Like a little girl seeing Santa or some shit. "To go through all that and still….still be cool… be normal. Just fucking amazing."

I chuckled. I'd never really thought about it.

"Nah, you just keep pushing or you get rolled over," I said.

She shook her head.

"You don't see it. You really are amazing," she said.

I grinned.

"Girl, you wanna see amazing, why don't you come climb in bed with me?"

She laughed and bumped her shoulder against mine.

"Slut," she accused.

"Slut?" I gasped playfully. "I've got a gift. You ain't supposed to hide shit like that. You're supposed to share it."

"Yeah, I bet you got the gift that keeps on giving. Gonoherpasyphilaids," She said with a laugh.

"Aw, hell no!" And I defended my honor by tickling the shit out of her.

**A/NII**: Chapter Songs: Remember The Name - Fort Minor

Right Above It - Lil Wayne

Also, I want you guys to know I googled how to spell gonoherpasyphilaids. Best moment in writing ever.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: ** Just the usual note to thank any/everyone who's giving this fic a look over. You guys are awesome and I want to shower you with pretty pink cupcakes with sprinkles.

(8) September 1

September rolled through sucking big time. School started for Bella. She went down to part time at the restaurant and partying at the apartment dwindled down. On top of that, when she did work, we were on opposite shifts. It took me all of two weeks to get fuck all sick of not seeing her. Friday I switched shifts with one of the other cooks so I could go check in on my girl.

She was the only one home since Allie was out of town and Jake was at the restaurant. When I walked in the apartment the only light on was hers at the top of the stairs. I took them two at a time.

She was surrounded by books and notebooks. Her hair was twisted up on top of her head in one of those messy buns that make chicks look so hot and laid back. Tank top and shorts. So fucking hot.

"Hey, girl," I said walking in and dropping on the bed next to her.

She beamed at me.

"Hey, Romeo, how's life?" She asked.

"Same shit, different day. Been missing you," I told her picking up one of the books and thumbing through it. Some kind of psychology shit. I shook my head and tossed it back down. "But you're too busy up here being a girl genius."

She laughed and laid down the notebook she had in her hands.

"Not even," she said. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Your hair is getting long."

She scratched her nails through it. I felt like doing that thing dogs do when their back paws start thumping a hundred miles an hour. She stopped and I pushed my head into her lap.

"More," I demanded closing my eyes. I could lay there for that shit all night. She laughed and went back to scratching.

Next thing I knew I was out like a light. When I opened my eyes from what was probably the best fucking nap ever the first thing I saw was my geniusgirl with one of her books in hand. My head was still in her lap enough I didn't know how she was standing it. Her legs had to be uncomfortable. Her other hand was draped over my chest. It was probably the best sight I'd ever woken up to. She glanced down when she felt me move and smiled.

"Hey, sleepy head," she said.

"Hey, beautiful," I replied. I sat up and stretched then stretched out next to her, slipping my hands under her pillow. "Sorry I racked out on you."

"No problem," she said. "You were just too cute. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Cute?" I asked with a smile. "I'm a man. Men can't be cute. We're manly, damn it."

"So, I'm supposed to say you making little happy sighing noises in your sleep was manly?"

"And sexy too."

"So, happy little boy noises are manly and sexy. Got it," her eyes were sparkling with laugher and her grin was enough to light up a whole neighborhood.

"If that ain't sexy I don't know what is." I told her grinning back.

Then some completely unexpected shit happened. A smirk pulled across her lips. She reached over and pushed my t-shirt up over my stomach, her nails barely scraping the skin. For a moment her eyes lingered on the skin she revealed then they came back to mine. The look in her eyes was like a full on five alarm fire.

"Now, that's sexy," she said.

I was completely speechless for pretty much the first time in my entire life. I just sat there with my shirt up around my chest and my mouth flopping open like a fucking fish. Before I could figure out what to say the door opened downstairs and folks thundered in. I pulled my shirt down shaking my head. A minute later Jake was in her doorway. For just a second I saw curiosity in his eyes. Curiosity but not suspicion.

"Hey, baby," he said with a smile crossing the room to kiss Bella.

"Hey," she replied. She kissed him back but I'd swear to baby Jesus there was a note of disappointment in her voice.

Jake grinned at me and reached out his fist for dap.

"Drinking?" he asked.

"You know it," I replied bumping his fist. "What about you geniusgirl?"

She sighed looking at the books spread around her.

"I should study," she hedged.

"Girl, it's Friday," I goaded her. "Give it a rest. You need to get fucked up."

"Yeah, baby, Lauren and her cousin are here. Come chill and talk girl shit with them," Jake chimed in.

A flash of annoyance in her eyes at the mention of Lauren.

"Man, fuck those tricks," I said standing up. "You owe me a quarters rematch."

Smiling again.

"Fine," she huffed. "But your ass is so owned."

A/NII: Chapter Songs Poppin Bottles – TI

Check Yes Juliet – We The Kings


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hey guys, kinda skipped out last week. My bad. As usual thanks to everybody out there keeping up with my little fic.

(9) September 2

Two fortys and my lean was getting pretty serious. I couldn't keep my eyes off Bella's legs. I was wishing she would have put some damn pants on. But I wasn't either.

I heard the quarter ping into the glass again.

"And drink, bitch," she said with a smirk.

Jake burst into laughter

"Dude, how'd you learn to suck like that?" he joked.

"Man, fuck you. She's got super drinking game skill or some shit," I replied with a laugh. I leaned back on the couch and let my head spin. There's more people packed into the apartment than when the night started. Half the night crew is crammed into the living room and spilling out onto the back steps.

"You want a water, Romeo?" she asked and it sounded like the best idea all night. I nod and feel the couch shift as she gets up.

"Fucking pussy," Jake snarked. I shot him the bird. I feel the couch shift again and I open my eyes. Lauren. Jumping Jake's dick the minute Bella's out of the room. Her hand is on his thigh. But she's looking at me. Licking her lipgloss caked lips, trying to be sexy.

"Hey, Romeo," she says.

Her perfume hits me like a fucking truck and my stomach lurches. I'm up off the couch pushing my way to the kitchen in two seconds flat.

"What the hell?" Bella asked from in front of the fridge where she's chatting with Jasper.

"Lauren," I told her slouching into seat at the table sucking in the clean air. "And four gallons of some bath and body words shit she's wearing. Smells like a cheap hooker."

"God, I hate her," Bella sighs reaching inside the fridge.

"I'll give you five bucks if you beat her ass and let me video it. We could be the next youtube sensation." Jasper told her with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and tossed me a bottle of water.

"I'm so beyond that shit," she said shaking her, heading over to sit next to me. "Besides, it's never the same one for long."

There was a sour look on her face.

"B –" Jasper started.

She cut him off with a shake of her head.

"Don't," she said and Jasper shrugged reluctantly. It seemed like they'd had the same conversation before.

"Girl, you know your worth seven or eight of that skank," I told her before I chugged my water.

That made her smile again.  
"Damn, right," she said with a smirk.

"You'd have to be blind not to see it," Jasper agreed. He was studying the two of us. He smirked at me and headed out the door.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier," Bella said, drawing my attention back. "I was out of line with that shit in my room."

"What?" I asked. Obviously the girl was crazy if she thought I was mad about that. "You can put your hands on me whenever. I'm not complaining."

She laughed.

"I just don't wanna give you the wrong impression," she wasn't really looking at me as she talked. She was playing with the label on her water bottle. Like she didn't really didn't want to be a part of the conversation. "I'm with Jake and all."

"Yeah, I know. But shit changes sometimes," I said with a shrug. Nothing a like Old E to bring out the truth.

She sighed.

"Nothing changes around here," she replied.

I reached out and stopped her fidgeting hand. She finally looked me in the eyes.

"You can change it if you want to," I told her.

"Yeah? What do I have to change for?" she asked. I knew what she was really asking. She wanted to know if I wanted her to. Was I giving her a reason to change? And sitting there, looking in those pretty eyes I knew I was.

**A/N II:** Chapter Songs Dance Dance – Fall Out Boy


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey y'all! Another quick update this afternoon. Anybody wonder what the hell is going on in her head? Well, here you go.

(10) Bella

Insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting the same results. Obviously having this conversation over and over meant that I was insane.

"That bitch ain't nobody, Bella," Jake huffed.

"Then why the fuck were you kissing her?" I snapped.

"Did you see me kissing her?" I wanted to slap the smug look off his face. Of course I didn't see the actual kiss. He was too good for that shit. But I knew what the fuck two people who had just kissed looked like. Him and Lauren on the back steps when I got back from walking Romeo home. God only knows what had happened in the twenty minutes it'd taken me to get the drunk boy out of his shoes and onto his couch.

"I'm not fucking stupid, Jacob!" I screamed.

"Bells, I didn't say –"

"Get the fuck out!" I just wanted him to be gone.

"Bella –"

"Out, you fucking asshole!" I yelled again advancing toward him. I wasn't seeing the hulk of a guy that was my boyfriend. I was seeing the lying, cheating douchebag that I couldn't get away from. I was seeing red. I wanted to shove him out of my bedroom. I wanted to shove him out of my fucking life.

"Fine, you fucking psycho bitch, if you wanna start tripping about some shit you just think you saw, fine! I don't need this shit. I may just go fuck some other bitch tonight. You think I do, so I might as well."

Twisting everything around, making me the bad guy. Bedroom door slammed, stormed down the stairs. Again. For the millionth time.

My heart was pounding as a flopped down on the bed. My eyes landed on the picture of Jake and I at the dock in junior high. Side by side with his arm around my shoulders. We were best friends back then. He'd seen me through my mom leaving when I was seven. I'd seen him through the wreck that took his mom and his dad's legs. That was before his ascent into puberty. That'd been great for him. From gangly boy to buff football superstud. And I'd thought he'd forget all about me, his AV geek best friend. But he hadn't. Instead he told me he wanted me to be his girl. He wanted to kiss me and take me to dances and be together forever. And I wanted that. So we became the new high school cliché. The studly jock and his smart artsy girlfriend. I got to live the high school dream all because of my hotshot boyfriend. No more AV meetings for Bella. It was all football games and the best parties.

And then the rumors started. This one gave him head. That one fucked him at the away game I missed.

"Don't believe that bullshit, Bells, they're just jealous. You're my best friend. I love you."

I never really believed him. A girl just knows. But I hid my head in the sand because I didn't want to think about what would happen if I wasn't Jake's girl anymore. I didn't want to lose the parties and the games and the high school dream. I told myself it would be different when we got to college. He'd act right again. He'd be my best friend again.

But that never happened. Instead Jake failed out after too much partying and not enough studying. And he found more ways to fit random skanks in. And more ways to make me feel that it was my fault. My fault for not trusting him when I couldn't prove it. My fault for not loving him enough when I could. And somewhere along the line I just got complacent. I just couldn't muster the energy to care anymore. One day I'd find a way to such my mind up… to shut my heart up and just leave him behind. One day.

I didn't expect to the new guy at work to eyes so green I nearly gasped out loud when I first saw him. I didn't expect him to actually be a good guy when everybody called him Romeo. I didn't expect him to notice me. I didn't expect Edward.

I picked up the picture and hurled it across the room.

**A/N II**: This little peek into our girl's head takes place the same name as chapter 8/9. Thanks a ton to everyone reading, commenting, etc. It means the world to me!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hi guys! A little shout out to the new followers *waves*. Nice to have you. And love to all the reviewers. Each one makes my heart go pitter patter!

I saw some pretty rough oopsies at the end of that last chapter. I work without a beta/reader/whatever and sometimes I get way too excited about posting to triple check. Sorry for those and thanks for not hammering me on them. Shall we move on?

(11) October

I glanced over at Jake in the mirror as he grunted over the weights. He was staring at himself, watching his muscles. I never knew people were really that into themselves. I thought that was only in the movies. Lately I'd learned a lot of things happen in real life that I never thought did.

Like girls not being able to get their shit together. Thinking of her made my blood boil. I cranked the treadmill up another couple of notches. I was psyched that Aro came up with the bright idea to put in a "gym". A couple of treadmills, a couple of weight benches, and some free weights. Don't need much more than that. Just need somewhere to channel the rage.

No girl in the world had pissed me off as much this one. I just wanted to shake the shit out of her. I wanted to scream in her fucking face to leave him alone. Scream that I saw her eyes cutting over to me every time she kissed him. Scream that I know those kisses are fake. Just scream and scream and scream.

I thought she was done with that shit last month. I really thought I had her. We drank and we talked and she walked me home and put me on couch. Even being all boozed up I remembered her sitting next to me. Telling me I had her head all messed up. Then she was texting me the next day telling me she put him out. But by the weekend he was back. Filled up the kitchen with flowers. Bought her a pretty purse.

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go," she said, sitting next to me on the sidewalk in front of my place. "His dad called me. He's got two little sisters. They're all in this one bedroom place in the trailer park."

"What's that got to do with you, girl?" I spat. I was being pissy. I didn't want to hear.

"We've been taking care of each other pretty much forever," she wasn't looking at me. She was staring at her chucks kicking little rocks across the lot.

I shrugged.

"What the fuck ever, Bella," I said. "I don't fucking care."

That brought tears to her eyes but I gritted my teeth. I couldn't keep wanting someone who didn't have the guts to take a chance for me.

More shit I thought was only in the movies; a dude being all tore up and lovesick over a chick. Never thought I'd get played out like that. Never thought I'd replay looks and smiles and disappointment like some little emo bitch.

"You see that new broad at work?" Jake asked. He was still watching himself in the mirror. He didn't see the pissed off twitch in my neck. "Her name's Siobhan. He dad owns that jewelry store over on eighth. Apparently, she got a DUI all smoked up and he made her get a job to cover it. Daddy issues," he chuckled.

I'd saw her. All her ice and the fact that she pretty much won the genetic lottery made her pretty hard to miss. Story was her mom was white and Mexican and her dad was black and Cherokee. Good hair, pretty skin, and this exotic face. Definitely enough to get my dick hard. At least it used to be. More importantly I'd saw Jake eyeing her every time she picked up plates. And I'd saw her eyeing me.

"Seriously, the ass on that one," Jake was stilling rattling on. "I need to knock that down in a bad way."

"Really?" I asked with smirk.

"Shit, son," he replied with a laugh. "You think you got better game?"

I slowed the machine down and grinned as I wiped my forehead. Maybe this was what I needed. Get that fucking girl out of my system in the best way possible.

"Any day of the week," I told him.

"Yeah, we'll see," he replied.

A/N II: Chapter Song Wonder Why They Call U – 2 Pac

I know there was some hope that Bella would just walk away from Jake but sometimes it's harder than that. Sometimes girls are stupid stupid stupid. At least I know I've been *eye roll at self*.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hey y'all! Thanks for everyone who's sticking this story out with me. I appreciate every single comment, favorite, and alert. They all get the happy dance.

Anybody ready for some dirty sexy times? I think we need a little dirty sexy times.

(12) December

I slid my dick out of her relishing the slick, slurping sound only a nice tight pussy can make. I fisted myself for just a moment taking in how the black light made her skin look like delicious dark chocolate. Then she started that fake-ass, banshee, porn girl screaming.

"Romeo, put your big dick in me."

Stupid fucking nickname. Quickly I grabbed her hips and flipped her over on her hands and knees.

"Bite this, girl, you're gonna piss off the neighbors." I said pulling the pillow in front of her face. She took it in her teeth still trying to look sexy. I could feel my dick losing a notch. I squeezed my eyes shut as I plunged my dick back in one hard stroke. And then I saw her, my punkgirl. I saw messy brown waves instead of the sleek black I wrapped around my hand. I saw laughing eyes instead of calculating ones. I saw myself on the edge.

"Come for me, baby," I told her gritting my teeth to hold off. I pounded into her just the way she liked it. If I was gonna be thinking of another chick to get me off the least I could do was let her get her's first. I kind of regretted it went a few moments late the pillow dropped down and she started wailing again.

"Oh, God, I'm coming baby! Oh, God, Romeo!" I felt her gush around me.

A few more pumps and I got my own still thinking about someone else. I dropped down next to her after I tossed the condom in the basket by the bed.

"Romeo, you're the best, baby," she cooed tracing her fingers over my chest. "You make me feel so good."

I nearly laughed out loud at how fake she sounded. Like she'd read some magazine telling her what dudes want to hear after sex.

"Si, you know you know that ain't my name" I reminded her. Again. I thought maybe she'd eventually get the fucking hint.

"I know, but you're so damn sexy it just fits," she said smiling. She sat up and started putting her jewelry back on starting with her big ass earrings. After her all important ice was back in place she started pulling on clothes. "Besides, Edward's so damn old fashioned. What the hell was up with your parents?"

Touchy subject, girl. I gritted my teeth. About a hundred dick replies were on the tip of my tongue. Luckily her phone buzzed.

"Everybody is over at Jake's now," she said pulling on her fuck me heels for the usual Friday night get together.

"You mean Bella's and Alice's?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes.

"Ain't nobody going over there to see them bitches," she said flouncing off into the bathroom.

Just like I told Jake getting with Siobhan wasn't the problem. Dealing with her ass was. She was bitchy and high maintenance. Like everyone girl I'd ever dated. The kind of chick I was tired of dating. She called me about ten times a day and text me at least twenty. She was constantly dragging my ass to the mall trying to get me to spend my money. I got cursed out for a dog if she happened to see me saying what's up to any of the girls. But I just let it all roll off my back like water off a duck. It was amazing what some good cat could make up for.

I checked my phone and saw that Bella had text me earlier asking if I was coming over. I shot off a quick text to let know I was and headed off to bully the princess out of the bathroom.

**A/N II:** Chapter Song Neighbors Know My Name – Trey Songz

So maybe not picture perfect sexy times… or even with the right girl. I mean, I don't know about y'all but I kinda like the thought of Edward (aka Romeo) behind me…. ;-)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I**: Stupid freaking writer's block. If it were a person I'd kick him in the junk. Really hard. Anyways. Hi to all the new followers since last time and thanks to everyone who's still with me. I heart you guys so hard.

Take it away Romeo…

(13) December 2

It was the usual crowded chaos over at the girl's apartment. Si ditched me to go smoke up with Lauren and Tanya in the kitchen. Apparently Jake was going back and forth between those two lately. It was beyond me how those bitches couldn't muster up some self worth.

My girl was on the couch with Alice watching Jasper, Mike, and Tyler shoot dice. I dropped down beside her. She favored me with a smile.

"Sup, girl?" I asked giving her the nod.

At first it'd been hard for us to get back to friends. I'd been avoiding her for about three weeks when she finally cornered me in the kitchen at work while I was cleaning up at the end of the night.

"I miss you," she said with her hands on her hips.

I just looked at her. Being with Si didn't take the bitterness away from not being with her.

"You're dating someone," she pointed out like it meant a damn thing. Still I didn't say anything. "Edward, please."

My name out of her mouth and those pretty brown eyes pleading with me broke me down.

"Fine, let's take a ride. And hurry your ass up. My old lady is gonna curse me out for getting in late."

We smoked and we didn't really talk about anything in particular. The twinge of hurt was still there and the longing was surely still there but I couldn't fool myself anymore. It was hard not being with her but it was even harder not having her around at all.

"How much you had?" I asked my girl as she laid her head over on my shoulder and waved a bottle of Boones in my face. Nothing quite like being cheap wine drunk.

"Enough," she giggled as I took the bottle from her.

I took a slug and found myself having to talk my dick down when I realized that if I kissed her right now she'd taste like sweet berry wine.

"Guess what I did," I said passing the bottle back to her.

"What's that?"

"I applied to that school in Savannah," I told her with a smile. I knew she was gonna flip out.

Just like I thought she did that girly thing where they bounce all over the place and squeal. Allie snatched the bottle out of her hand before we all got a Boones shower. Bella had been talking to me about getting my ass into school since I fixed her laptop and showed her some programs I designed. I always loved computers and since things were so tight when I was a kid it was easier to build and fix my own than it was to lay hands on money. Eventually that morphed into teaching myself code and programming.

"How long until you know if they accepted you?" she asked excitedly.

I grinned and reached into my back pocket.

"My dad's old CO is a professor there now. He pulled a couple of strings," I told her as I tossed the acceptance letter on her lap. "I'm in starting next semester."

Her eyes were the size of dinner plates. She threw her arms around me and squeezed so tight.

"Oh my God, I'm so proud of you!" she said. "You're so fucking awesome!"

It kinda felt like my heart was melting. Then she gasped and sat back. Now her eyes were sad. Drunkgirl.

"That means you're leaving," she said softly.

"Yeah," I told her nodding. "I already canceled my lease. I'm working on finding a place down there now."

She sighed and looked away. She started running her finger around the rim of her bottle. I reached over and tugged her chin so she'd have to look at me.

"The Caddy's got plenty of room," I told her quietly. I could see Allie watching over her shoulder with a cautious smile on her face.

I could see the want to in her eyes. I could see in uncertainty and fear too.

"You can always change it," I said keeping my eyes on hers.

I swear I could see the gears turning. I could see her plotting out a whole new life. And then Jake yelled for her from the kitchen. Everything grinded to a screeching halt. I dropped my hand and grabbed her bottle again.

**A/N II**: Chapter Song: Started From the Bottom – Drake

Know where he's going? SCAD, baby. Our boy's got *smarts*.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Still there? I'm so sorry about this one y'all. I swear it's been like pulling teeth with me lately. The words just didn't want to flow. Couldn't even write a letter.

But I got this going again and hopefully I can get these last few chaps out in a timely manner. Thanks for every comment and favorite/alert. Y'all rock!

(14) December 3

Wasn't much to keep me occupied after Bella ran off to play girlfriend. I watched the dice rolling and finished off the bottle my girl had left. I was working a pretty damn good buzz by the time I realized I wasn't real sure where the fuck my girlfriend was.

I headed to the kitchen where there was still plenty of ruckus. Bella was standing behind Jake with her hand on his shoulder. She was affirming whatever bullshit he was talking about football to some dudes but any fool could see she was checked out. The girl looked bored to tears. Part of me wanted to call her out of there. Say we needed to go on a beer run or some other nonsense. Just jailbreak her so that dead look in her eyes would go away. But the other part talked sense. That part said she made her choice. No sense in trying to save someone who don't wanna be saved.

She looked over at for a second and I raised an eyebrow at her. I know chicks aren't mind readers but I swear she knew what that look meant. Get it together girl, you're better than that. She couldn't hold my eyes. Looked away. Looked ashamed. So fucking sad. I shook my head and left out.

Si wasn't out back so I headed up the stairs thinking maybe she'd headed up to use the other bathroom. The door was cracked just a tiny bit and I could hear voices.

"Si?" I asked rapping my knuckles on the door. It opened up a little from my knock and the shit happening on the other side of the door surprised the shit out of me.

There was my girlfriend sitting on the toilet with her legs spread up far enough to drive a bus up in. One of those ridiculous high heels was hitched up on the sink. Eyes closed, hair a mess, shirt bunched up over her tits. And there was Lauren on her knees slurping on her cat like it was a fucking ice cream cone.

"What the fuck?" I yelled.

Si's eyes opened. I could tell she was fucking loaded. Lauren sat back on her heels and looked up at me. Her hair was all dicked up from where my girlfriend had been pulling on it. Her shirt was unbuttoned and her tits were flopped out.

"Romeo," Si groaned. Then a smile spread over her face. She probably meant it to be all sexy and shit but it was about a million miles off. "Come here."

"Bitch are you stupid?" I asked shaking my head at her. "I don't want no piece of this."

I know it's supposed to be every dude's fantasy to bag two chicks at one time but sharing my fucked up bitchass girlfriend with some run through tramp from my job was not my idea of a good time. She had the nerve to look shocked. Meanwhile Lauren was still just sitting there on her knees still looking stupid. That was the last fucking straw for that one.

"And don't you have any fucking self respect? You're running through all the dudes at work and now your running through the bitches too?'" I shook my head at her. "I tell you what, that's the only way you're ever gonna taste my dick."

Her lower lip went to shaking like she was gonna cry but I couldn't find it in me to feel bad when she'd just be kissing on my girlfriends muff. I turned back to Si.

"You can stay with that bitch tonight 'cause you ain't coming home with me," I turned to go and got another surprise. We'd gathered an audience. A couple of chicks looking shocked and dudes staring hard. I saw someone's phone flash as I pushed my way out. I could hear Si behind me yelling at them to shut the fucking door.

I headed down the stairs and straight out the door. Twenty minutes later I was sitting on the sidewalk in front of my place working on a bottle of Jack. After the fucked up turn of events I just wanted to be drunk. Really fucking drunk. When Bella walked up I waved the bottle in her direction. She smirked.

"You really know how to make an exit," she said sitting down next to me.

I laughed.

"I do it big," I said. "Drink."

She shook her head.

"Nah, I'll leave you to that. That bullshit totally killed my buzz," she said.

I gave her a questioning look. Didn't figure my relationship disaster was really that big of a deal.

"After you left those two nasty bitches came down and pretty much made a spectacle of the fact that they'd just be upstairs licking on each other. And of course the guys were eating it up. Alice dragged Jasper up to bed and I… well, I just didn't want to deal with it. So I came to check on you." She explained.

"I see," I said. I took another drink and grinned at her. "So, I'm single again…."

She smiled.

"So you are," She said.

"Why are all the good girls taken?" I asked her. Good and drunk now. Time to let the mouth run.

"There not all taken. And some girls just have a lot of shit to deal with," she said with a shrug. Not looking at me as usual.

I reached out and made her face me. Maybe I just wanted to touch her.

"You need to deal with your shit, girl. Get it all lined out," I told her. "Get that done and then let me show you what it's like to be with a real man. And I'm not talking about the fucking. I'm talking about taking care of you and being good to you."

Those eyes were so big and so pretty I just couldn't help myself. I kissed her. She was surprised at first but then she leaned into it. Her soft lips moving against mine, her tongue sliding out touching mine. She made a little groaning sound in the back of her throat and I was rock hard. We were both breathing hard when I let her go.

"I mean I wasn't talking about the fucking part, but we can damn sure do that too," I told her with a grin.

A/N II: Chapter Song: My Girl Gotta Girlfriend – Young Dro


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Now were cooking again. In fact I'm hoping to have this wrapped up in the next week or so. As usual thanks to everyone who's commented/alerted/favorited. It really makes my day.

(15) December 4

You know you're in for one fuck of a day when you open your eyes and your head starts pounding like some techno is going off in your skull. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Then I had to do a double take when I noticed the person sleeping next to me. Bella's pretty face looking so young and sweet while she slept. I forgot about the headache pretty quick.

Pieces of the night before started to materialize in my mind. Si dyking out in the bathroom. The bottle of Jack. Bella showing up. Kissing her. Oh, God, kissing my girl. And there went my dick again. But after that things got pretty blurry. Something on the couch. In my room, her pulling my shirt off. Me asking if she was going to take hers off. I looked over immediately when that shit came back. I was a little disappointed and a little happy she still had her clothes on. That was not something I wanted to have a halfass memory of.

I hopped up to scrub my teeth and all and when I walked back in my sleepygirl was stretching and yawning. She gave me a smile.

"I haven't slept that good in forever," she said. "How you feeling, alcoholic?"

I chuckled.

"My bad," I said climbing back in bed to lie next to her. "Why don't you fill me in about how big an ass I was. I don't remember shit about the end of the night."

She laughed.

"Do you remember you're single now?" she asked.

"Yeah, fuck that bitch," I replied rolling my eyes.

"Do you remember sitting outside?" she asked. She looked a little shy about that one.

I grinned.

"Girl, I aint gonna forget kissing you if that's what you're asking," I assured her.

Pretty pink blush spread over her cheeks.

"We sat on the couch and talked for a while. You remember any of that?"

I shook my head.

"That's where stuff gets fuzzy."

"You kept telling me I need to drop Jake. You're a good guy and you're not gonna sleep with someone else's old lady. You're not that kind of guy," she rattled off, mocking my drunk ass.

I laughed. It was a little embarrassing all that emo shit came out but whatever.

"We just laid there for a little while. You said you just wanted to hold on to me. It was really sweet. Then when you started falling asleep I dragged your punk ass off the couch and helped you out of your clothes. You tried to help me out of mine," she told me arching an eyebrow. I gave her a grin and she shook her head at me. She was still smiling though. Yeah, she thought I was cute. "Then you asked me not to leave. To just stay here. So I did."

"So what now? You gonna do it? Leave him and be my girl?" I asked. Might as well go for broke.

"You want me?" she asked. She was still unsure.

"You damn right I do."

That pretty smile grew into a big grin.

"I'll tell him tonight after he gets off work," she said.

I nodded and gave a smirk.

"Good, 'cause you aint getting none of this until you're a free woman," I told her.

Her laugh was like music. She scooted over close to me and ran her fingernails up the back of my neck. That shit made me want to purr like a kitten. She pulled me down close to her and whispered in my ear.

"I can't even have a taste?"

So much for being a good guy. I rolled over on top of her fitting my hips between her legs so she could feel how hard I was.

"Maybe just a little taste," I agreed going to work on her neck with my mouth until she was groaning and squirming.

A/N: Chapter Song: Bust It Baby – Plies

Maroon Five – Sunday Morning

Looks like our girl is finally getting her head on straight ;-)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hey guys! I can't tell y'all how happy I am to have this little fic to escape to when work is killing me. It's so great to just get out of life and see what these fictional folks are up to. And even better, hearing from y'all. So yet another word of thanks for everyone who reads/reviews/alerts/favorites.

(16) December 6

There was only one kind of customer I really hated at work. That asshole that walked in at 10:58 wanting to order a whole fucking meal. Appetizers, entrees, and dessert when all I'm wanting to do is get the fuck out of there for the night. It was closing in on one when I finally got out of there and between being on my feet all night and dealing with douchebag Jake I was fucking exhausted. So I was kind of like what the fuck when someone started pounding on my door at nine-thirty in the morning.

"Alright, alright," I yelled as I made my way to open up. I was pretty shocked when I saw my girl standing there on the steps. I didn't know such a little girl could make so much noise.

"That motherfucker!" she huffed barreling past me.

I closed the door behind her and watched as she proceeded pace around my living room.

"Okay…" I started only to have her barrel on.

"In my fucking bed! Fucking that slut in my bed!" She was in full rant mode. I sat down on the couch to watch the show.

"Which slut? I know one or two," I ventured to ask. I was just a little scared about directing her attention my way.

"Your slut," she said sharply turning my way. Uh oh.

"I uh –" I started. What the fuck to say to that?

"Fucking Siobhan. That slut. Urrhhhh!" Too pissed to form words. Holy shit.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What the fuck do you think happened? I kicked their asses out," she huffed. "I sailed through my last final so I could finally talk to that douchebag since I knew he wasn't working. I was going to go out to his dad's since that's where he was supposed to be but I had to stop by the house first. I get there and there they are, going at it in my bed. He saw me and yelled for me but I went right back down stairs and grabbed his paintball gun. They doubled timed it the fuck out of there when I started waving that shit around. I may have shot him in the ass while he was running out the door. I also may have starting tossing his shit out my window."

She looked pretty pleased with herself. I couldn't help it, I burst into laughter.

"You shot him in the ass?" I asked. She smirked and nodded. "You are one bad bitch."

"Just let it be a lesson to you. Fuck with me and you'll be picking up with remains of your Xboxyou're your TV from the parking lot," she said.

"Girl, I wouldn't dream of it," I told her getting up off the couch and heading her way. I got right up close and eased her up against the wall. "So this means you're a single woman now?"

She squealed a little as I started loving on her neck.

"Yeah, I thought… uh… I might play the field…oh… for a while," she was trying to give me shit but I was too busy distracting her with my mouth.

"Oh yeah?" I asked unbuttoning her shirt nice and slow. "You mean I've been waiting all this time and now I still gotta go to war with some other dudes?"

Everything she started to say stopped when I nudged her bra down and took her nipple between my teeth. All I heard was sweet little whimpers.

A/N II: Chapter Songs: Fuck It (I _Don't Want You Back_) - Eamon

Karma – Joss Stone

Good riddance, right?


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Ok, this one is a little wordy but I just couldn't stop….

Now this was what a house party was supposed to be like. First off, it was in a house. A bad ass, fat living house. Rose's new dude was some kind of construction boss. Big fucking dude with huge hands. Kinda made me feel like a bitch when we shook. But Emmett seemed like a solid guy. The fridge was full of booze and a bunch of guys were playing on the Xbox and the music was loud. Best of all Bella and I were together. No seeking glances. No more thinking and not doing. When I wanted to grab my girl and kiss her, I could.

For the time being I was content to kick back on the couch and watch her dance in the middle of the floor with Alice and Rose. They dubbed the shindig the Bella Independence Day Bash. There'd been so much girl power talk I was surprised all us dudes weren't growing tits. Watching her pop her ass with her girls brought back the memory to the night after the breakup when everything finally felt right.

She came home with me after work. I wasn't really expecting any more than the usual kiss and grope. I knew it might take some time before she was really to go that far. I let her jump in the shower first. Nobody liked to kiss and cuddle smelling like spilled drinks. I followed after her loving the sight of her coming out of my bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. But seeing her sitting up in the middle of my bed with the covers to her chin when I came back out was even better. She was playing on her phone but when she saw me she tossed it to the side. The she let the covers slip.

The most perfect tits in the fucking world. Just sitting there waiting for me to get all over them. I turned off the overhead in favor of the blacklight. It made her body glow. I dove on the bed, pretty much tackling her. She squealed and giggled and I started kissing her neck… her lips… her chest… pretty much anything I could get at.

"You're scratchy!" She gasped. I hadn't shaved. But I could tell she loved it. I brushed my cheek against her soft skin making her wiggle some more.

Just like always the squealing gave way to whimpering when my mouth hit those tits.

"So fucking perfect," I muttered as I went from one to the other. I couldn't help it. She needed to know. Slowly I started kissing lower, over her stomach. I heard her gasp. The kind of gasp that said keep going. But I kept it nice and slow. Giving her time to stop me if she needed to.

Apparently slow and steady wasn't really what she had in mind; I felt her fingers in my hair and her palm pushing my head down down down. I chuckled.

"Please," she whimpered.

No way I could deny that shit. I shoved the blankets down and took just a quick second to take a mental picture of that perfect little pussy in lacy boy shorts. Then I pretty much tore them off her. I licked each soft lip nice and slow, savoring the smell of her. Then right down the middle getting a mouthful of the best flavor on fucking earth.

"God, you taste good," I told her stopping for a minute to look up at her. Her head was thrown back, her hands fisting the sheets. Her eyes popped open when I stopped. Those eyes said every more and now and please I ever wanted to hear. I got back to work.

I found the sweet spot in no time and worked her until she came in my mouth. I got up on my knees and watched her come back down, smirking the whole time. When her eyes finally opened back up she looked like she was fucking starving.

"More." She demanded sitting up and reaching to shove my boxers down. When my dick popped out she dead stopped. "Oh my God!"

"What the fuck?" I replied, looking down to make sure I hadn't grown a second one or some shit. But everything was cool. Just my dick rock hard and ready.

"It's fucking huge!" She gasped.

I laughed as I slid my hand around it, giving it a couple of strokes. That's the kind of reaction every dude dreams of getting.

"Yeah?" I smirked.

"I just… only Jake… and… Oh my God," she was babbling. She hadn't taken her eyes off my junk.

As pimp as her reaction made me feel I was starting to worry a little. If she'd only been with that little dick mother fucker this might not work out.

"We don't have to –" I started only to shut the fuck up when she wrapped her hot little mouth around me and started sucking like she was auditioning for Vivid. I was able to take about two minutes of that until my balls started to tighten.

"Come 'ere you," I told her hauling her up against me. I laid her down and hovered over her on one arm while the other reached for a condom. I wrapped up and put myself right at her entrance. She felt so hot and wet I wanted to dive right in but instead I steeled my nerves. "Nice and slow," I told her.

She nodded up at me looking excited and nervous. I eased a little in nice and slow. Then a little more. Her mouth was gaping up. She was whimpering and squirming. I pushed a little too much and she gasped. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold up much longer like that.

"Let's try this," I said pulling back out and flipping on my back. I pulled her over on top and me. She smiled as straddled me. "Take it how you want it babygirl," I told her.

She eased down on it. Up and down. Up and down. Felt like she got wetter with every stoke until finally I was as deep in her as I could go.

"Mother fucker," I cursed grabbing both hands full of her ass. She was sinking her nails into my chest, holding on to me as she pumped her hips. Not that she had it all she was riding it like a pro. "So fucking hot."

I pulled her to me so I could kiss that sweet mouth. She rode me like that with my hands and mouth all over every inch of that frame until I shot the world's biggest load. And after we cleaned up she snuggled right up next to me and went straight to sleep. It didn't take me long to do the same.

Now I was trying to put my dick back to sleep, setting my beer bottle between my legs hoping the cold would settle my ass down some. Just thinking about that girl was enough to rock me up. Like she knew she turned away from the girls and blew me a kiss. I gave her a wink. Can't wait to get you home, girl.

I was thinking I might need to hit the bathroom and splash some cold water to get my shit to go down when I heard voices coming through the door that did the tick just fine.

"Hey, y'all forgot my fucking invite?"

Fucking Jake.

A/N II: Chapter Song: Body to Body – Ace Hood

Woo! It took forever but they finally Got. It. On. Thanks for everyone still hanging in. I'm thinking two more chapters. Thank y'all for every alert, favorite, comment, every anything. I love you guys to pieces!

Also, I made a tumblr: bnwritergirl, Strawberry Jolly Rancher. Story pics, stuff I'm reading, maybe some teasers... stuff and all. Feel free to stalk me :-D


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hearts and flowers and stars and cupcakes for everybody who's giving this fic a look. You guys are the best. See you at the end!

(17) December

I hopped up and slid over to Bella. Alice was cussing up a storm.

"Damn it all to fucking hell. Jazz didn't tell me that tool would be with him," the little on griped. "He got a bunch of X today and kept texting me that he didn't want to be alone... he's all fucked up."

Jake and Jasper were making their way in. Sure enough the second they walked it I could tell they were both rolling their balls off. This was gonna be a fucking disaster. I didn't want shit to go down this way. In fact I thought I'd try to explain shit man to man to Jake and if that didn't work it didn't really matter 'cause she was bouncing out with me in just a couple of days.

We were both seizing the damn day, me telling her to come stay in Savannah with me and her saying yeah. Three days and she had her life here wrapped up. Jasper was moving in with Alice, she told her mom, she started looking at taking her classes in Savannah, everything came together so quick and so easy it was hard to believe it was for real. She kept texting me, asking me is it really this easy, and I kept texting back that damn right it was this easy. Now it had to go and get complicated.

"All my peoples!" Jake yelled and drugged out and giddy looking over the girls and me. Rose's dude and a couple of his homies were looking like what the fuck but she shook her head at them. Everybody trying to keep it cool. That didn't last long. He noticed my hand on the small of my girl's back before I could get it away. "What the fuck is that?" He demanded.

Everybody froze. X turns mother fuckers into live wires. Most day I'd have been like what the fuck ever, I'll fight this dude. But tonight I just happened to have a big fat sack in my pocket, a treat for me and my girl. And somebody always calls the cops when there's a fight. A misdemeanor sure, but with school and a new place and a whole new life on the line I just couldn't chance it.

"Jake, dude –" I started.

"Man, fuck you! You're fucking my girl you douche bag?" veins in his neck were popping out. Dude looked like the hulk. I wasn't impressed.

And then the little hell cat next to me decided to go the fuck off.

"Fuck you, you cheating son of a bitch! I'm not your fucking girl! You bag of dicks!" She screamed storming forward to shove the fuck out of him.

"Son of a bitch," I cursed pulling her back, sliding in between the two of them. Fucking disaster.

Meanwhile the hulk swings on me and I duck it pretty easily since it looks like he's swinging on somebody seven or eight miles to my left. And then, although everything happened at once it seemed like each little thing happened one at a time, very distinctly. I heard Alice scream Jasper's name. I gave Jake a half force shove, just enough to get him the fuck off me. That shit sent him stumbling back into Jasper and now Alice who was at his side. They all hit the floor. Emmett and all his homies swarmed it.

"Oh God, back the fuck up, he's burning up!" Alice was screaming.

"Call a fucking ambulance!" Rose was screaming.

And Jasper was laying there with vomit all down his chest and his jeans all wet where he'd pissed himself, not moving at all. Next to him Jake had went from the Hulk to the world's largest, most scared, sobbing teddy bear.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," was all he could get out.

OD. Fuck. My girl is next to me trembling. I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her up close to my side. I kiss her on top of the head.

"Yo, Emmett," I call, getting his attention. He's looking distressed as fuck knowing everything is all about to go to hell as soon as the cops show. "Y'all call the ambulance?"

He nods. Now there's only two things left to do. Wait or leave. Waiting means cops and a fuck load of trouble. Leaving means looking like a dick. Fuck. I swallow hard and look down at the girl next to me. She's watching her friend with tears steaming down her face. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Babygirl, I –" I start. I feel like a dick. I feel helpless.

She touches my pocket where my sack is. Girl read my mind.

"We gotta go," she says nodding, wiping her eyes. She's picking me this time. She's picking a new life. I feel like a dickbag for being happy about that at a time like this.

I nod back and grab Emmett by the arm.

"Dude, I'm holding," I tell him. "I gotta get the fuck outta here. Keep me posted."

He nods. I take my girl by the hand and start leading her toward the door.

"Bella!" Jake's screaming for her. Like someone is fucking gutting him. I didn't know a dude could sound like that. He crawls over on his hands and knees and wraps those monster arms around her legs. "Please don't leave me. Please, please, please."

He's openly weeping. Begging. She looks so confused and distraught. She let's go of my hand to lay it on top of his head. To give him comfort. He's still sobbing and begging and I hear sirens getting close.

"Fuck," I mutter watching the crazy ass scene in front of me.

My girl looks up at me and the only other time I'd ever seen someone look that torn up was when the dudes showed up on our doorstep in Class A's to drop the news on my mom.

"I can't," my girl whispered.

Now the waterworks are starting in my eyes. I swallow that shit down hard. I nodded and walked out the door.

A/N II: Chapter Song: _Hennessy_ & _XTC -_ B.G. feat. _Big Tymers_

Drugs are bad, k? Not only can they screw up your night but they can screw up the night of innocent bystanders.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hi guys! This bad boy is coming to an end just one more chapter after this one. I thought it might be a good time to see what's going on with our girl…

(19) January

Bella

I've never been religious but I've always believed in fate; that things happen for a reason and all the little pieces fit together like a puzzle. Every little thing, good or bad is all a part of fate's plan. And sometimes you think you understand what fate is trying to do, where it's trying to guide you. And sometimes that seems pretty freaking great. Then sometimes fate changes its mind.

Everything was just way too easy. Breaking the lease, Jake's odd silence, my mom supporting me "following my heart". I thought that was fate. Fate showing me that all the bullshit happened for a reason; that I'd paid my dues and Edward, my own personal Romeo, was my payoff.

But of course not. Fate is a bitch and apparently I ran her puppy over or some shit. Apparently fate had decided that I'd ring in the New Year in a hospital room with one of my closest friends hooked to an IV sitting next to my ex boyfriend who wouldn't stop looking at me with great big puppy dog eyes.

Two days after Jasper's OD he was still being pumped with fluids. He was lucky he was only suffering from severe dehydration and he hadn't cooked any of his organs. Alice never left his side. She was alternating between fretting about him and cursing him out for pulling that bullshit in the first place. Jake and I had been there pretty much the whole time as well.

Yes, fate had decided that Jake would be the human form of herpes. No getting rid of him. He'd been nearly as fucked up as Jas the night of the OD. He paced the halls at the hospital badgering doctors and nurses for updates, grinding teeth and clenching fists. And who else was going to take care of his ass? I had to drag him off a few times before they laid him out in a bed. And when he wasn't freaking out about Jas he was sobbing to me about how sorry he was. Part of me was heartbroken seeing him that way. Jake, my first love, my oldest friend. That went to war with the other part of me knew he was the dick that brought it all on himself. He destroyed us.

Fate was stubbornly quiet with suggestions as to what I should do.

He finally came down off the bullshit the next day when we'd headed over to the apartment to refuel. He took a four hour nap that was more like a coma on the couch.

"Want some food?" I asked when he woke up. I was idly clicking through the channels, staring at the text I'd received from Edward. He text just to say he missed me. Was that fate? Was that her nudging me?

Jake sat up and rubbed his face. He had that listless look that everyone gets when they come down off X. Suicide Tuesday.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Yeah, I could eat."

So I made us some grilled cheeses and big fat glasses of tea. After we filled our bellies awkwardness filtered in.

"Bella, I-" Jake started.

So many conversations had started this way. He was going to apologize. He was going to tell me he'd never ever do it again. Was that my fate? To be in a miserable ass relationship always wondering if there's something better? Fuck fate.

"No, I need to talk," I cut him off. "This doesn't change anything. You needed me the other night. And I stayed _as a friend_. We are still apart. We're never getting back together. Ever."

He smirked.

"Alright, Taylor Swift," he muttered. He was trying to joke. Trying to feel normal.

"I'm serious, Jake," I said narrowing my eyes at him.

He heaved a huge sigh.

"I know," he said scrubbing his hand over his face again. "I guess I've always known you'd get tired of my bullshit sooner or later."

"Then why?" That bothered me, not knowing why he did the shit he did. I always felt it was something I wasn't doing right. That I wasn't good enough. I was the reason why he cheated.

"Fucked if I know," he said with a shrug. "I guess I'm just a douche. I don't know why I fuck those girls. I don't fucking love them. I love you. I guess… I don't know…. I guess I just always thought we'd be together and nothing could change that. No matter how stupid I was. Like we were just supposed to be together."

"Fuck fate," I muttered.

"What?" he asked wrinkling his brow.

"Nothing." I said shaking my head. "I'm sorry this is all happening right now. But I can't do this anymore. I can't take care of you anymore. I can't be with you. I'm leaving."

He hung his head and sighed again. I saw a couple of tears drop into his lap. He wiped his eyes then looked up at me. He nodded tiredly.

"Let's get back to the hospital, kay." He said.

January second was the last day of my life in my little hometown. I said goodbye to my Mom. I borrowed her car and spent the evening cruising around saying little goodbyes to all the places I loved.

Jake was at the apartment when I got back that night. Sitting on the back of his tailgate. He stood and gave my mom a little gave when I climbed out of the car. I looked at him curiously.

"You're leaving tomorrow right?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I just… I wanted to say bye. And I'm sorry. Again. Sorry for everything. I want the best for you Bella. And I guess this is what's best. But he better treat you good. Better than I did. He better love more than I do," he said swallowing thickly. "And if you ever change your mind, I'll be right here."

I gave him a small smile.

"I won't," I said softly.

He nodded as if he expected as much.

"Well, I'll always be your friend," he said. He held his arms out to me and I obliged him a hug. He squeezed me tight and kissed the top of my head. I felt his tears on my shoulders.

And that was the end of that. Years of misguided faith in fate. Years of tears and feeling unworthy. Over. It was like a hundred pounds of weight off my shoulders. I didn't feel angry or sad. I felt like. I was done with him.

A/NII: Chapter Song: The Wind Blows – All American Rejects

I'm still on the fence about fate. How about you guys?

As usual thanks so very much to everyone who's shown some interest in this fic. And all the reviews, favorites, and alerts make my heart pound like kisses from Romeo :-D

And if you guys wanna see inspiration pics and such have a looksy at my tumblr triplew dot bnwritergirl dot tumblr dot com.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Guess what! We've reached the end! Woot! See you guys at the end, k.

(20) January

I had to read Romeo and Juliet in high school. All the chicks were like _it's so romantic_. I didn't get that shit. All I saw was some dude who got played out by one chick and then moved on to another chick just to get played out by her so bad he offed himself. And all these ditsy bitches are like _oh, they were supposed to be together, it was fate _and _they had to die to keep their love_. Bullshit.

I never gave much thought to fate and love and all that shit. I thought about getting ahead and getting laid. Right up until I saw that girl and that smile. And the way she looked at me, it had me thinking that maybe I did go through all my fucked up times for a reason. Maybe it all got me to right there. Right there next to her.

Then everything went straight to hell. Quick too. Jasper damn near kills himself and I'm like shit, this ain't good. But then that fucker has to beg on his fucking knees. That fucking no good douche bag. And bam, he's right back in her arms.

I thought that maybe she was just taking care of him 'cause he didn't have anyone else up to task. She was just standing up for an old friend. So I gave her some space and some time. It was so fucking hard. After having that little taste, I wanted her next to me at all fucking times. But I tried real hard to give her room 'cause I knew she needed that. But I felt like I was in limbo, not knowing if she was still gonna hop in the Caddy with me today or. So I took a walk. Across the complex to her place. Some shit I regretted immediately. As soon as I saw her all wrapped up in that bitch ass dog.

I felt like someone took out my insides and started a bon fire in there. I felt sick as shit. I took my ass home and smoked my fucking brain. I don't know how I smoked that much without passing the fuck out.

Now I'm groggy as all hell throwing the last of my shit in my baby. I wanted to leave this morning but apparently I was in a coma.

"Hey, boy, can you give me a ride?" her teasing voice feels like a punch to the gut.

"The fuck you want?" I ask standing up from out the backseat to look at her over the top of the car.

She looks confused. Guess she didn't expect me to be mad… hurt… whatever.

"I… I thought you had room for me," she says quietly.

I look at her hard. What kind of shit is this bitch playing?

"Yeah, that offer had a time limit. I ain't got room for both of y'all in here," I tell her.

Now her eyes are welling up. What the fuck?

"Both of us?" she asks. "What are you even saying right now?"

"Your boyfriend, Bella," I tell her.

"Romeo – Edward, I had to –"

"Yeah, yeah, same fucking story. You're all he has blah, blah, blah. I thought you were over that shit. I thought you were gonna be _my_ girl. But I guess it turns out you just wanted a break for a hot minute. Well, girl, I surely hope you had fun."

I slam the door to make my point. It feels good.

"You dumbass," she says shaking her head glaring at me.

And I'm fired the fuck up, I'm around that car in two freaking seconds. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I wanna shake the shit out of her. But I know I can't do that. I wanna scream and tell her she don't get to be pissed here. I'm the one who's been played out. I get to be pissed. That I can do.

Then I see it. A big fat duffle bag sitting next to her feet. I dead stop. And I know I've got that dumb dick look on my face 'cause I can feel it.

"Uh…" I'm just babbling. I have no idea what to say.

She arches an eyebrow at me.

"Like I said, you're a dumbass," she spits at me.

"But you never answered my calls… my text. And last night I saw you with him," I tell her.

"My phone is dicked. I was trying to get a new one this morning but I couldn't get a ride. I came by earlier and pounded on the door but you never answered," she explains. "And last night was the end. The very end. Over. Done. We we're saying our goodbyes. People do that when they've been together forever."

I let out a deep breath I didn't know I'd be holding and sit my ass against the Caddy.

"Fuck," I mutter running a hand through my hair.

"Dumbass," she huffs.

Now I'm smirking at her.

"You make me crazy girl," I tell her.

She's playing mad.

"I should stay my ass here," she threatens but there's no weight behind that.

I'm still smiling when I walk around and climb in the driver seat. I start my baby up and the music starts pumping through the speakers. Her music. I see her trying to fight a smile. She loses.

"Get in the car, girl," I tell her. I throw in gear like I'm really gonna go anywhere without her.

Then she laughs. It's like music. It's like sunshine. It's perfect. She throws her bag in the back and climbs in next to me. She leans over close and lays her head on my shoulder as I pull out the parking lot.

"I love you, boy."

"I love you too, girl."

A/N: Chapter Songs: All I Need - Method Man and Mary J. Blige

I Caught Fire – The Used

A happy ending and new life for those kids. I hope you guys dig. One more round of heartfelt thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, alerted, favorited, or even just glanced at this story. But just a little extra sugar for my folks who have been reviewing since the beginning. I've loved seeing the story through your eyes. And I'm so glad you stuck it out with me.

I'm thinking I'll have something new for you guys pretty soon so feel free to check the tumblr for some sneak peeks or to say hello or even to fuss at me to get off my proverbial ass and put words to paper sooner.


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